Process of matching tooth-cement.



G. L. L F. L. 'GHIEIL PROCESS 0F MATCHING TOOTH CEMENT.

APPLICATION FILED IAN.2I. I9I3.

1,191,692. PaIenIedJu1y18,1916.

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GARRETT L. GBIER AND FRANK L. (3i-BIER, MILFORD, DELAWARE.

PROCESS VOF MATCHING TOOTH-CEMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July is, i916.

Application filed January `21, 1913. Serial No. 743,333.

To all whom t mayv concern Be it known that we, GARRETT L. Grunn andFRANK L. Grunn, citizens of the United States, and residents of Milford,in the county of Kent and State of Deleware, have made certain new anduseful Improvements in Processes of Matching Tooth-Cement, of which thefollowing is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in processes of matching toothcement, and it consists in the steps hereinafter described and claimed.

An object of our invention is to provide a process for matching cementthat is to be used as a filling for a. tooth, with the tooth itself, sothat after the cement is inserted it is very difficult, if notimpossible, to distinguishv the cement from the tooth itself.

Our invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming partof this application in which- Figure 1 is a vertical section through aholder for the cement shade guides, Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspectiveView of a suspending ring and a portion of the strips, and Fig. 3 is a.sectional view of a modified form of the device.

In carrying out our invention we provide a bottle or other similari'eceptacle 1 of the shape shown in Fig. 1. This bottle is pro.- videdwith a stopper 2 of the same material, and having a. handle or knob 3.The underside of the stopper is provided with a bore 4 arranged toreceive the stem 5 of a ring 6. In the drawings we have shown the stem 5as consisting of the adjacent ends of the ring 6 although it may be asingle integral stem without departing from the spirit of the invention.This stem is held in the bore a by means of cement 7 l Suspended fromthe ring 6 are a. series of strips 8 which are slidable on the ring andalso have a pivotal movement with respect thereto. These lstrips arepreferably of a thin resilient waterproof material, lsuch as Celluloid,or the like, and bear at their lower end the shade guides 9. The latterare really pieces of cement of various tints or shades,

leach formedi in the shape of a tooth. As

will be seen from the drawing, the .lower ends of the strips 8 with thecement samples are submerged beneath the water.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of. the device theoperation thereof may be readily understood.

In iilling a tooth with cement it is of'ten difficult to attain theright color. The cement I is put up in the form of powder and is mixedwith phosphoric acid into a paste, and one is very liable to get thecement filling either darker or lighter than the tooth itself.` With ourprocess, however, this liability of error is reduced to a minimum. Thecement shades or samples are already'made up and are kept submergedunder water in the bottle l. l/Vhen it is necessary to determine theshade of cement to be used the stopper 8 is removed and held in the palmof the hand, while the strips 8 are separated with the lingers, and thecement samples or shade guides in their moist condition may be placedalong side of the tooth to be treated. Unless the cement is moistened itwill not be of the shade that it has when placed in the cavity of atooth, for when the cement is dry it will appear generally of a lightershade. The shade guides are numbered to correspond with the powders fromwhich they are made, sothat the proper shades can be readilyascertained. As soon as the selection is made, the stopper is returnedto its place, the shade guides again being submerged in the water wherethey are kept free from con'- tamination and ready for instant use.

It will be seen that the placing of the shade guides under water servesa. double purpose. It keeps them in a moistened condition so that theydo not have to be moistened when they are removed from the bottle,besides keeping them in a perfectly sanitary state. The stopper 2serves, as stated, as a handle for manipulating the shade guides withthe lingers and also as a means of suspension for the shade guides whenthe latter are submerged in the water.

In Fig. 3 we have shown a modified form of the device in which thebottle l is provided with a. cap 10. The neck of the bottle is providedon the interior with inwardly projecting lugs la. The ring 6 whichsupports the strips S bearing the shade guides 9 is adapted to rest onthe lugs 1a and a handle 11 is provided for lifting the shade guides outof the bottle when they may be used as already described.

We are aware that shade guides having different tints have been usedformatching artificial teeth, but so far as we know, no one has prepared aseries of cement samples having different tints which are designed to bewet so as to change the tint and then to match the sample, when wet,with the tooth.

Obviously, other liquids beside Water might be used to change the tintsbefore matching without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

`We claim l. The herein described process of matching cement With teethWhich consists in preparing a series of cement shade guides of differenttints, subsequently altering the tints byimmersing them in a liquid, andthen matching the teeth With the cement samples.

2. The herein described process of match-` ing cement samples with teethWhich conslsts 1n preparing a series of cement shade guides of differenttints, subsequently altering the tints by immersing them in water, andthen matching the teeth With the cement samples.

3. The herein described process of matching,` cement samples With teethwhich consists in preparing a series of cement shade guides of differenttints, and subsequently altering` the tints by immersing them in Waterand then matching the teeth With the Wet cement samples.

GARRETT L. GRIER. FRANK L. GRIER. l/Vitnesses WILLIAM C. SMITH, WALTERL. GRIER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

